How could you change your industry?

Taking advantage of methane that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere provides Australian business with an untapped fuel resource and opportunity to minimise their carbon footprint.

Methane and nitrous oxide are well-known, potent greenhouse gases, which damage the environment and are emitted in large quantities by agriculture, landfills, mines, refineries, power plants and factories.

According to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme, methane and nitrous oxide have greenhouse impacts 21 and 310 times greater than carbon dioxide, respectively.

Leakage of methane from industrial and agricultural sites also represents the loss of a valuable fuel, while being a threat to safety as it becomes explosive at high concentrations.

Dr Maryanne Large, Draco’s Chief Scientific Officer, explained that emissions of methane are currently difficult to measure for Australian businesses, making it challenging for them to capitalise on this untapped resource.

“Often, the need for more accurate emissions estimates is offset by the cost of getting there. The instrumentation is expensive and the emissions may occur over large areas that may be difficult to access,” said Dr Large.

“This led us to investigating a design for a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) carrying optical sensors that would set new standards in weight, accuracy and affordability for the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions.”

Contact us below to see how the technology might be tailored to your industry.